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Westing looked from the tiny girl, now curled up on his bed. She looked even smaller curled up in a ball, her arms wrapped around her teddy bear. He looked up and towards the door, waiting for Red to com in.

Westing pointed to the other crate chair,
"You can have a seat or go to sleep." he said waving towards the bed where the little girl slept, her breathing soft, her arms wrapped tightly around her bear. Westing looked from the little girl to the older one, wondering if theyw ere related they didn't look alike. Cedar was boney and tiny, her bones jutted out here and there and she almost resembled a skeleton. Red was thin form malnouishment, but wasnt a skeleton.

"She ya sis?" he added waving to Cedar who rolled over in her bed and hugged her bear tighter.

Red shook her head "No. I'd not met her before tonight." she said, sitting on a crate "I'm Loralie Reding." she said, holding a hand out. "I haven't lived on the streets much. I ran away from a manor where I was a slave about three weeks ago. Cedar works at the factory I do I believe but I'm not really sure."

"Westing Stayler." Westing siad gripping her hand and shaking it once before dropping hand to his side. He looked back at Cedar, she loke dto weak and thin to be able to work, but she had guts, he'd seen that.
"What manor?" he asked, he knew some rich people kept poor orphansa as slaves, not many of them were treated nicely, some ot an education as a 'payment', but usaully theyw ere just mistreated and forced to work.
"I've been in the streets since I was..." he paused froa few moments as if trying to remember, "10." he finished, "I wa s10 when Is tarted to live in teh streets." Westing spoke slightly more educated then little Cedar did, but only becuase eh'd ehard educated people speak and copied their speech patterns.

She nodded "Night's Wing. At least I think so... They let me listen in on lessons but it was very informal. In general they treated my like horse sh!t but I did learn everything up until my age. Even some piano. It didn't make up for what they did... not in the slightest so I left." she said, blood colored eyes distant

"Ah, I can't read or write...I can count a bit though." Cedar screamed in her sleep and curled up starting to hska eand sob. Westing got up and went over to her, standing over her and lookingd own at her sobbing, shaking form, he didn't have the slightest inkling of an idea about what to do to amke her stop. He just knew he needed her to be quiet, he didn'tw ant people in tehs treet to hear them. The rich enforcers of law would get mad at them all for 'disturbing the peace'.

Cedar thrashed and sobbed, she curled into Red,
"Stop! Stop! I'm sorry." she cried, clutching at her teddy bear and shaking like a leaf. She buried her face in Red's shoulder, muffling her sobs. Westing shoved his hands in his pockets and went to the door, someone was knocking, he reacehd for the knob and turned to Red, he mouthed the words' silence her' as his hand grippe dthe knob.

Westing opened teh door and stood in tehd oor frame, making it almost immpossible to see past him. It was one of the enforcers.
"You are disturbing the peice, you and whatever other riff raff is in there, boy." the enforcer said, he looked at Westing huaghtily, Westing sneered back,
"Do I care? Not a bit." he said,
"You ain't the one screaming, boy, bring whoever was screaming out, we'll her/him/it down't to the cop hous eand leave you alone." teh enforcers said. Westing luaghed harshly at him,
"No." he siad, "Now get out of my sight." he aded. the enforcer took a step forward and Westing slammed his fist into the enforcers jaw,
"Go away!" he snapped, guarding tehd oor like a watch dog. The enfrocer stumbled back, clutching at his jaw. Cedar continued to sob in the background.

The enforcer tried toe neter again, only to get a kick between the legs. The enforcer stumbled away with Westing's glare on his back. Westing shut the door and turned back to Red, Cedar had quit crying, her cheecks were shiney with the tears she'd crie'd though and the crying had made her even paler, he saw a birth makr on her neck, it was bright wine red. He went to sit down on a crate.

Cedar was alseep but her hand grasped at Red's and wouldn't let go, one hand clutched at Red's while her other arm wrapped around Ridge tightly. Her tiny hand had a surpsingly strong grip for oen her size, but it still wasn't very hard.

Westing leaned against the wall here he'd pushed his crate against, he watched both girls his eyes didn't show he thought the scene was sad or sweet, theyw ere just rather blank.